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Canada-China (FIPA)

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Video by Caitlin Dodd, Heather Libby and Kai Nagata. Starring Dylan Burns and Kaylah Zander. Music by Kevin McLeod and used under a Creative Commons license.

On Friday, September 12, 2014 the former Harper government announced the ratification of the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA) with China. The announcement came almost exactly two years after the agreement was signed and first announced to the Canadian public.

The former Harper government ratified FIPA despite the fact that a Federal Court was still considering an appeal in the Hupacasath First Nation’s legal challenge of the constitutionality of the deal.

The controversial agreement came into force on October 1, 2014 and will be in place for a minimum of 31 years. Unfortunately, there is no longer anything any Canadian government or court can do to stop the Canada-China FIPA.

We must all recognize and thank the Hupacasath First Nation. They led an inspiring and tireless fight to defend not just their rights, but the rights of all Canadians, from the implications of FIPA. Their courage and tenacity delayed the deal's implementation for two years, and they were actively pursuing a federal court appeal when Stephen Harper quietly – and undemocratically – ratified the deal.

The Council of Canadians gives sincere thanks to the tens of thousands of our supporters who spoke out about FIPA, and to those who gave generously to support the Hupacasath’s legal challenge. Thanks to your collective efforts, the Canada-China FIPA went from being an unknown agreement in 2012 to a major liability for Stephen Harper going into the next federal election.

Read the Council of Canadians' press release in response to the ratification announcement.

Recent highlights

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will reportedly lead a trade mission to China this March. When then-prime minister Stephen Harper did the same in 2012, he brought with him corporate executives from Enbridge, Canadian Oil Sands Ltd, Cameco Corp, and thirty-seven other Canadian corporations.

On June 22, Osgoode law professor Gus Van Harten will explain why Canadians should be concerned about the Canada-Europe Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and the pseudo-courts at the heart of these agreements.